A 4th/5th grade assignment is to find information on “exploration of north America”. To use the RESEARCH databases, Choose MY ACCOUNT and login. These databases are not on the internet. They are only on library websites through your AADL library card.
The articles provide the citations you need to prove your research.
1. Choose the RESEARCH tab along the top of the website.
2. Use the link to "browse databases by subject".
3. Choose “Kid’s and Teens”.
4. Choose “Kid’s INFOBITS”.
5. Choose” Advanced Search” and enter keywords.
I used “discovery”, “OR”, “exploration”, “AND”, “north America”. You will come up with articles to read, or print.
6. Now the challenge is finding "historical" exploration, and "keywords" for further research.

So your old friend moved to Nevada but you don’t know where. Try using the library’s research product Reference USA to find them. Reference USA is found on the library’s website under the Research tab.

Another very important & useful feature of this software is looking up businesses by region/etc and limiting the search to specific types of companies. It’s a great resource for sales & marketing leads. My search for info on ICE CREAM & FROZEN DESSERTS (MFRS) in Michigan yielded 40 businesses.

Use Reference USA at any Ann Arbor District Library location or from your home / business computer. Off site usage requires your Ann Arbor District Library card #.

One of the eResources that the library subscribes to is Tumblebooks. You can read stories, listen to stories, and get help on sounding out words. I like Robert Munsch. TumbleBooks has five stories by him: 50 Below Zero, The Fire Station, The Paper Bag Princess, Pigs, and Wait and See. I just listened to Robert Munsch read 50 Below Zero. I could read along and watch the animated illustrations. It was great. Give TumbleBooks a try.

Ever ‘caught’ a yawn from someone else? According to University of Maryland professor Robert Provine, about 55% of viewers seeing a yawn will yawn themselves. Provine embarked on a quest to design “the 100 percent contagious yawn” (inspired by a Monty Python sketch).

Intrigued? NPR’s All Things Considered talked to Provine about his experiments on September 24th. See if you can make it though the story without yawning yourself – I couldn’t!

Want to learn more? Read Provine’s article about his early research in the December 2005 issue of American Scientist. The full text of the article is available through the General Reference Center Gold database on the library’s Research page.

Today is the birthday of world renowned poet Donald Hall, and to celebrate, The Writers Almanac is displaying one of his poems, “The judge was decent, but . . “ about Hall’s 1972 marriage in Ann Arbor to poet Jane Kenyon. As the poem says, it was a basic municipal marriage -- but afterwards they did drink champagne at the Gandy Dancer. Five years later they remarried in New Hampshire, ". . . joyful
in a wooden church,
a Saturday afternoon in April,
only Jack Jensen our
friend and minister with us . . ."

Need a photo or chart to spruce up that research paper or presentation?

You’re sure to find one among the 3.5 million images in the Associated Press (AP) Multimedia Archive. This database allows you to search or browse AP images from as far back as 1860 – then download, email, or print them to use in your assignments.

Find the AP Multimedia Archive in the General Interest section of our Research page. You can also access the database from home with your Library card.

If anyone you know will be writing research papers this year, be sure to tell them about Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. From Animal experimentation to War crimes, from Global warming to Same sex marriage, it's hard to imagine a topic not covered here, and hundreds of articles can be accessed.

Another of our gold-mine databases is General Reference Center Gold where as of today you will find 42,575,731 articles "updated as recently as recently as Sept. 11, 2007."

Whether you are looking to learn about the world for a school report or just for yourself, CultureGrams is the place for you. With over 200 country reports you can learn the history and culture of many of the world’s peoples. More than just articles, CultureGrams also has photos, videos, audio recordings, and recipes. Take a look and discover your world today.

Find out about all of the library's fun stuff for kids with AADL's parent page! JUMP is your stop to find recommended stuff for kids and learn about upcoming library events. Parents can also get information to plan their visit to the library an even find out about resources to help kids with their homework. It's all at jump.aadl.org!